Thinking In Future Tense

Last night I was reading an article on characteristics of a good startup, and this nugget jumped out at me (it was originally said by Marc Benioff):

People overestimate what you can do in a year and they underestimate what you can do in a decade.

Software folks tend to be impatient for success, perhaps fueled by seeing the lucky few like Mark Zuckerberg who achieve near-instant greatness. The temptation of moving around to chase pay increases is also ever-present. And it’s really easy to get tired of a particular project at about the 80% complete mark and leave it unfinished (that’s worth a post all its own).

However, great products and great companies almost always take time to develop. And deep satisfaction awaits the person who, through years of toils, takes an idea to completion or builds a fantastic engineering culture. When I was (finally) looking for a change after 12 years at one place, why did I turn down offers from the typical dream companies? Because they’re essentially solved problems, and the chance to make a long-term transformation is minimal.

My current workplace is far from perfect. Without a doubt it’s been more challenging than I expected since I started 3 years ago. But I’m learning to be patient. There’s no guarantee of success, but if it comes, I know it’ll be more satisfying than if it had come quickly.

It reminds me of a story I heard from Andrew Peterson of the designers of Central Park. Told briefly, the folks who planted those first trees knew they would never even see the fruits of their labor, since a generation had to pass before their landscapes could mature. But what a result it was! That kind of patience inspired a great song and it inspires me as well.

Sidenote: the title of this post comes from a book I snatched from the free table outside the library at Judson Baptist Church in Nashville. I highly recommended it (the book, not the church).